São Paulo fell 2-1 to Talleres as a visitor in their debut in the Copa Libertadores. It was a defeat that was expensive with three injured players, two of them who left the stadium on crutches, a low level from James Rodríguez and a decision by coach Thiago Carpini that left things to be said.
The bad streak of the São Paulo team at the Mario Kempes stadium, in the city of Córdoba, was present in the second half of the first half. At 20 minutes Rafinha had to leave due to an illness, before half an hour Lucas Moura also had to leave and near the end it was Wellington Rato’s turn, after an opponent fell on him.
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Carpini took the risk of not immediately replacing Wellington Rato, as that would have meant using all three substitution windows, and opted to wait until half-time. At that moment, when his team had 10 players on the playing field, the opening of the scoreboard came through the foot of Ramiro Ruiz Rodríguez
“It was a difficult decision, playing with Talleres with one less was a risk, it was difficult, but I knew that some players were not going to last the whole game, like James Rodríguez, who has not played 90 minutes in a long time,” said the coach in conference after the meeting.
📊 ¡@CATalleresdecba, líder! Así están las posiciones del Grupo B de la CONMEBOL #Libertadores tras la primera fecha.#GloriaEterna pic.twitter.com/lZ3wjtsyVU
— CONMEBOL Libertadores (@Libertadores) April 5, 2024
The coach did make the right changes in the second half with the additions of Giuliano Galoppo and Luciano. The discount on the scoreboard came through an intervention by both: the Argentine finished, the ball hit the post and Luciano was quick to capture the rebound and convert.
The scorer had entered a moment earlier to replace James Rodríguez. The Colombian had an opportunity from the start, after having been a substitute in the Paulista Championship matches in which São Paulo was eliminated in the quarterfinals, although his level It was pretty low.
São Paulo’s injuries for the rest of the season
Wellington Rato left the stadium with his foot immobilized and assisted by a partner to walk, like Rafinha, who left on crutches. In the case of Lucas Moura, he felt pain in his left thigh, in what is his third muscle injury since returning to the club in August of last year.
A próxima partida é em casa:
São Paulo x Cobresal-CHI, na quarta-feira (10), às 21h30, no MorumBIS, pela segunda rodada da fase de grupos da @LibertadoresBR.#VamosSãoPaulo 🇾🇪 pic.twitter.com/gBD4fRbUqV
— São Paulo FC (@SaoPauloFC) April 5, 2024
These ailments come at a time when the Tricolor Paulista has a busy schedule. On April 10 they will play the second day of the Libertadores with the obligation to beat Cobresal (Chile) in the Morumbi and then comes the start of the Brasileirão, with two high-voltage matches: they receive Fortaleza on April 13 and visit on the 17th to Flamengo at the Maracaná.
